Coin dispensers have been employed, and a common variety is that usually designed to be worn on a belt. It contains a plurality of side-by-side containers into which appropriate coins are fed. Coins are dispensed from the bottom by pressing a selected lever to slide the lowermost coin outwardly to drop into the hand of the user. Such dispensers are usually made of metal, are fairly complex, heavy and expensive. Moreover, the coins have to be sorted before being dropped into the proper container. Such dispensers cannot be mounted on a vertical surface in plain sight of the user, or if so mounted, they have to be mounted securely to resist the downward pressure of the finger operated lever. Such dispensers are not really practical for household use.
There is accordingly a need for an inexpensive and simple coin sorter and dispenser which can be readily mounted on a vertical surface such as a refrigerator wall or door, and from which selected coins can be removed one at a time. The force required to remove a coin should be of little magnitude and should not be directed downwardly. Also, coins fed to the sorter and dispenser should be reliably classified into the proper container or compartment.